


The One With The Questions

by melanie1982



Category: Boy Meets World, Friends
Genre: Feelings, Longing, M/M, Other, Pre-Slash, mirroring, whatif
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-09
Updated: 2020-12-09
Packaged: 2021-03-10 00:49:20
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,209
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27975406
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/melanie1982/pseuds/melanie1982
Summary: I own nothing. I make no money from this work of fiction.Joey and Chandler watch Boy Meets World.Shawn and Cory watch Friends.Nobody is in love with their best friend.(Spot the lie)
Relationships: complicated
Kudos: 8





	The One With The Questions

2am

Chandler exits his bedroom en route to the kitchen, in need of a glass of milk (he wishes he could have something stronger to knock him out, but, since he has work in a few hours, milk will have to do).

Joey's frame is sprawled out within his Barcalounger, eyes on the tv screen, the blue light flickering across his face. Chandler watches him, watches the screen, then watches him again. His friend is, seemingly, zoned out, oblivious to his presence.

"Whatcha watchin,' Joe?" 

On-screen, two teenage boys are talking to one another on the phone. Neither one wants to hang up; there's a definite sense of romantic tension and longing between the characters. 

"Sitcom. 'Boy Meets World.'"

Chandler resumes his mission, fetching the glass of milk from the fridge. He has to hide it in a bottle labeled 'Phoebe's healthy green juice;' it's the only way to stop Joey from chugging it all. 

He stands a few feet behind the matching Barcaloungers, watching the boys onscreen dance around their true feelings for one another. He drinks his milk, wondering what kind of sitcom would write such obviously well-matched characters, only to continuously place obstacles between them and their mutual happiness: parental interference; an ever-changing cast of women; misunderstandings.. Then again, Chandler's sense of humor *does* tend towards the darker side, so, perhaps for some, he muses, watching others suffer, burning in unattainable desire, is highly entertaining.

Now feeling far too awake for the hour, Chandler takes his seat beside his roommate-slash-best-friend.

"Can I watch with you?"

Joey nods, eyes still on the screen. 

They finish that episode, then roll into another. By the third one, Chandler is distracted, glancing askance at his best bud.

Chandler notes the way that Joey always looks.. comfortable and lived-in, while he himself is more fastidious and detail-oriented. Joey's pajama bottoms don't match his t shirt, and neither of those items match Joey's slippers, yet the man looks so at ease, so natural and in his element. Chandler's robe complements his PJs, and his slippers match the rest of the ensemble. The boys onscreen seem to mirror their friendship's dynamics, with Shawn being the wild ladies' man, and Cory playing the role of the voice of order and reason. 

The marathon plays on, Joey's eyelids finally drooping as they finish that season. Chandler, intrigued by the show, is more intrigued by his friend's interest in it, his relative quiet, his focused attention for.. how many episodes now? No explosions, bikini-clad women, or car chase scenes; that's so unlike Joey.

Joey begins to ease himself from his chair, his weary body now lurching towards his door, limbs heavy, heart even more so.

"Hey, Joe - you think those two ever figure out that they love each other?"

Chandler has already formed a dislike for that Topanga girl, and can't quite figure out why.

Joey turns around, looking at his best friend - the man who always manages to look more put-together than he can, even at stupid o'clock in the morning going on no sleep; the man who tries to hide milk from him so Joey will still have enough of it for his morning cereal; the man who is content to sit in companionable silence with him for hours as he devours a sitcom loaded with teen angst and romantic tension. 

Joey takes Chandler's measure - that open, trusting face; that stupid matching sleepwear set that hides his friend's physique - and he pushes down what he's feeling. He forces down the impulsive, impassioned, Shawn-like words he wants to say, and buries the reckless, lost-boy urge to kiss the cluelessness off of his best friend's face. Joey forces his hand to grip the knob of his door as he tosses his reply over his shoulder - 

"I dunno. Guess we'll have to wait and see."

\---------------------

Cory arrives home from a day of job-hunting, finding Shawn sprawled out on the couch in a t shirt and boxers, the glow from the tv the only source of illumination in the house.

"Hey, Shawnie. Whatcha watchin'?"

He's wound up, and could use a distraction, something to help him decompress before bed. Judging by the laugh-track, Shawn's watching a comedy.

"'Friends,'" Shawn replies, shifting his body to an upright position so Cory can take up his usual spot on the couch.

Cory hasn't seen the show, though he's heard about it. "Ohhh, that trendy show. Ok; I'll give it a try."

Shawn shrugs, hoping it comes across as casual. Cory settles in, his leg almost touching Shawn's, and it's all Shawn can focus on for several minutes..

..until the on-screen plot becomes distracting enough.

Chandler is having a flashback to *that* Thanksgiving, the one where the pool-boy, his father's lover, offered him more turkey. 

Shawn is on edge, wondering what Cory is thinking, worrying what he'll say. While 'Friends' isn't exactly the greatest at realistic portrayals of LGBTQ lives and characters, often making them the butt of their jokes, at least it's an attempt - and a conversation-starter.

By the fourth episode of Shawn's marathon, Cory has started to piece things together. 

"That Ross guy is an arrogant jerk, huh?," Cory asks. Shawn assumes it was a rhetorical question, but is relieved that it was a simple one.

When Cory makes a comment about Ross being uptight and overreacting to everything, Shawn simply gives his friend a side-eye, fighting down a grin.

"That Ross and that Rachel, always on-again, off-again. Their friends must get so tired of it," Cory quips.

Shawn can only nod, adding, "Yeah - it's pretty exhausting." He won't spoil their evening by drawing any real-life comparisons.

Another mine dodged. Cory removes his sweater, and Shawn's heart skips a beat as, for one moment, he gets a glimpse of Cory's exposed midriff, his interview shirt riding up with the motion.

By the time Cory starts to yawn, his sleepy form swaying ever closer to Shawn's, Shawn knows it's time to wrap things up for the night.

As Cory straightens up the living room, Shawn feels another question coming. He's dreading it, but there's a slight tingle of anticipation, too, like the thrill of doing something forbidden and getting away with it.

"Hey, Shawn?"

Shawn is already halfway up the stairs, but pauses, listening, hiding in the shadow of the stairway. "Yeah, Cor?"

"I think those two roommates are, y'know, into each other. At least that Chandler guy is; he's, like, totally gone for his friend."

Shawn freezes, does not breathe, does not blink, waiting; Cory's reaction will set the tone for the rest of Shawn's life. 

"I kinda wanna know how it all plays out," Cory decides, sounding excited. 

How could Shawn have ever doubted that Cory would zero in on the real love story of the series, and, having identified it, commit to rooting for them to find happiness?

Cory loved love. He recognized the love on the screen, celebrated it, even. Now if only - 

Shawn stopped himself there. There would be plenty of time to over-analyze things once he was safely ensconced in his own room.

There were many things he wanted to say in response, each of them perfect, all of them wrong.

Instead, he settled for -

"Me too, bud," knowing he'd cleared the minefield. "Me, too."


End file.
